


missed connections

by HeartHarps



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 03:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14926460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartHarps/pseuds/HeartHarps
Summary: corellia > koronet city > community > missed connectionsyou wore a mask and gave me a fake name but I think you live near the city? you were so nice i hope our paths cross again• do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers





	missed connections

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably about 43% accurate in terms of Star Wars canon, but I don't think turning a blind eye should be too difficult. Captain Phasma exists now (just so I can use this fact for one joke). The best school setting I could manufacture is the Imperial pilot training program or something? Inspired mainly by my limited second-hand knowledge of _Solo_. This is sympathetic to people who work for the Empire.  
>  Loosely based on Miraculous Ladybug, because I'm halfway through season 2 and I have so many feelings. For those unaccustomed: we're going to assume that rudimentary disguises conceal identities completely, even from close friends. :)

Luke couldn't help it. "Blast," He muttered,  as an Imperial fighter came up behind him. The tiny ship was packed with Corellian refugees even into the cockpit, so news traveled fast.

"What is it Amidala?" A small child brushing by Luke's legs asked, using the fake name he gave when he was making trips that weren't exactly sanctioned by the Empire.

Sure enough, another voice from further back piped up as Luke frantically tried to assess the situation. "What's going on?"

Luke breathed. "Everything's gonna be fine, alright?" He said, knowing he sounded tense. He hiked the cloth up higher over his face and pulled his headset on.

He couldn't tell this fighter's play. Since pulling into the corner of Luke's range, it assumed no offensive position, only falling further and further behind. It was only another 6 parsecs to Drall, so if he lost it soon, Luke figured they would make it.

He was contemplating the best way to throw the fighter off when all of a sudden, a freighter came out of nowhere, cutting across Luke's path towards an asteroid belt—and the fighter peeled off to follow.

As he subconsciously adjusted course away from the tangle that was about to ensue, Luke didn't even register relief that the fighter hadn't been after his tiny T-4a. All he was thinking about was that freighter. The ship’s model, the sector they were in, the conspicuousness of the flying. It all matched the description of the rather infamous smuggler Solo, and Luke flew the rest of the way to Drall a little starstruck.

 

+

The protocol on Drall was standard. Land out of sight, point people towards the city, then try and pick up an Imperial transport job with his fake I.D.. Security was lax in the Corellian sector. Despite the Imperial training center on planet Corellia, anyone who cared was fighting rebels elsewhere. That made the sector a hub for smugglers and criminals, like Solo. Though he'd stuck to other systems for a while now; flying this close to Corellia itself was rare for Solo these days.

Luke couldn't help but feel annoyed as he watched two young Imperial officers load boxes of unperishable food into his ship. Surely Solo turning up here, now, was only going to make Luke's operation more difficult.

As Luke prepared for take-off he noticed the boxes read 'Malfas Foodstuffs'. He lifted off the planet, flying towards the sky until the sky disappeared, all with the word 'Malfas' reflected vaguely in the glass before him. The Malfas factory was a good workplace. A decent number of the refugees Luke transported ended up there, and even if the work wasn't great, there was jobs, unlike on Corellia. The Imperial officers were shutting down anything they couldn't control, which was a lot. They started importing more, which meant demand went way up on other planets in the system... Luke couldn't preserve anyone's livelihood on Corellia while in Imperial pilots’ training, but he could ship people out illegally on his day off.

He dropped the shipment on Corellia in record time and then flew north, over miles of forest before coming to a big blue mountain sticking out of the trees. Flying around the far side, Luke raised the legs of his T-4a, closing in on the overhang that had successfully hidden his ship for months—and it was full.

Someone was already parked inside. Inside Luke's secret parking spot.

Real rage spiking inside him now, Luke set down next to the overhang, half-blocking his new friend, and charged outside to give the owner a piece of his mind, too angry to process the fact that the offending ship was the  _ Millenium Falcon _ , and its owner was the ever infamous Solo. No, Luke just pulled the rag up higher over his face and froze when he saw someone leaning against the  _ Falcon _ 's gangway, wearing huge, dark goggles.

"Hey there," The person said, and all at once Luke realized it was Solo.

His brain took a couple of seconds to process, so Luke stood there, silent, before asking, "What are you doing in this system?"

"That's for me to know and you to lose sleep over,  _ Amidala _ ," Solo drawled, pushing off the support and sauntering slowly towards Luke.

Luke didn't waver. "That's my spot."

Solo paused. "C'mon."

"There's another mountain a mile south."

"That's a mile closer to the Empire," Solo countered. He turned to examine the overhang and his ship under it. "Tell you what. I'll stick my nose out, we can both fit."

Luke hated that it was a good plan. "Throw in 25% of whatever you just made."

Solo agreed.

 

+

From the mountain, it was 15 minutes walking to a speeder, half an hour on that, until Luke stashed it 5 minutes out from the training building. Sneaking in a back door, there was no record Luke had ever left.

There was still a solid few hours left in his day off, so Luke showered. He ate dinner with some guys in his bunk—there was ten of them, altogether—and then they played a couple hands of Sabacc for fizzer-sweets.

Once it got dark, Luke retired to his bunk to read, but only got a few paragraphs in before getting distracted. Another of his bunkmates, Han, had been out all day, but was back now and freshly showered. Luke tried to ignore him as he came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, but was failing quite thoroughly.

"Hey kid," Han said, and started rifling through his belongings.

"Hey," Luke returned, staring, forgetting that he was probably only talking to him because no one else was in the room. Han had only joined the academy a couple weeks ago, but he was friendly. "Enjoy your day off?"

"Eh," Han said, retrieving some clothes and turning to face Luke. "You win some, you lose some," He said, and headed back towards the bathroom.

Luke smiled to himself as he went. "You sure do."

 

+

Solo kept showing up over the next few months. Taking off from Selonia as Luke passed on his way to Talus, or in whispers of street merchants in the capital of Tralus.  Something had brought Solo to the core system of Corellia for the first time in years, but nobody seemed to know why. Luke had half a mind to follow the  _ Falcon _ and confront the smuggler, but he was also half hoping they would just run into each other at the parking space they had continued to share.

 

Over those same months, Luke got closer with Han. He was funny, and kind, and not afraid to scam you out of every fizzer-sweet you had. While the other guys got up to shenanigans in the cafeteria or with unassuming medics, Han and Luke sat on crates in the hangar and talked. About ships and politics and their childhoods. Han talked about growing up on Corellia and why he came back. Luke talked about Tatooine and the legend of his mother he was too scared to believe.

"She fought against the Empire until the day she died. She was one of the only voices to speak up over all the hate and lies," Luke told, having established long ago that neither supported the government they were slaves to.

Han nodded. "What was her name?" He asked.

Luke just shook his head, swallowing his nerves. "I don't know," He said, putting on his jacket as a distraction.

Han reached a hand over to help pull it over his shoulder. "You got her spirit," Han commented.

Luke liked that; he liked the idea that her spirit lived on through him could tell it was supposed to be a real compliment.

Han left his hand there for a moment, then retracted it. Then, the dinner alarm rang, so Han stood up and offered Luke a hand.

"The way I see it," He narrated as they headed for the cafeteria, "Your mom either dies in childbirth, or lives long enough for you to find her selling slick on Coruscant."

 

+

Luke pulled around the corner and crouched in the shadows, opening a small holo-map and trying to figure out where he was. The corner was part of three ducts meeting, and Luke came from…Where did Luke come from again? It must have been…or maybe… 

His train of thought was interrupted when someone barreled around the corner and knocked Luke clear over. 

“Woah!” The attacker griped, struggling to get back on his feet in the 4-foot-tall air vents.

Panicking that he was caught, Luke first ensured the cloth was still covering his face, then took a look at the figure above him, and then started to get up. Pretty quickly, Luke guessed the other guy was there as legally as Luke was.

“What the hell?” He spoke again, sizing Luke up and snatching the map off the ground.

“Solo,” Luke said, feet underneath him once again, staring at the smuggler.

He adjusted his goggles and leaned in a little before smiling and saying, “Amidala?”

_ I don’t have time for this _ . Luke swiped for the map but Solo kept it out of reach.

“Come here often?” He joked. 'Here’ referred to the warehouse in a small Corellian city they were both sneaking through.

Luke scoffed.  _ I can't believe this _ . “There’s a dozen refugees in that Holdo bunker.”

Solo clicked around on the map until it opened, while narrating, “No, there’s a dozen types of spices in that Holdo bunker.” He stuffed the map in a pocket and pushed by Luke to head down the duct.

Luke followed wordlessly behind for a few paces before Solo threw a glance back. “Tagging along? This is my lucky day.

“If there’s refugees in there,” Luke argued as they walked, “Someone has to get them out.”

They walked in silence for a little while more. Luke’s back started to ache. He was starting to think about sitting when Solo said, “Refugees, really?”

“What?” Luke retorted.

“I know you get around. Thought you’d at least be making some money.”

Luke started to hear sounds indicative of a real room somewhere ahead. “I am making money.” 

“What?” Solo called. “I can hardly hear you with that rag over your pretty face.”

“I said,” Luke started again, louder, “I am making—.” He cut off when Solo raised a hand. Luke could barely see anything around him.

All of a sudden, Solo swung his boot forward and Luke heard a  _ clang _ and then a  _ clatter _ . Solo moved forwards and then out of the way, and Luke followed him into a small storage room.

Crates and brightly coloured bags littered the ground. And Corellian refugees were sitting on and around them. Luke smiled. “I was right.”

 

-

Luke watched as Solo struggled to grab containers of spice and throw them towards the bunker door. He put away the map he'd been consulting and said, “Aw,  give it up, Solo. You'll never move all that by yourself.

But Solo kept working. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” He drawled, and threw a crate so hard it rolled and toppled a pile of smaller boxes.

Luke stood up. Solo reached for a bag of orange powder but Luke grabbed his arm. Solo paused and moved only his eyes to look at his fellow smuggler. Amidala said, “I can't fit everyone on my ship. The adults can carry one box each onto the  _ Falcon _ . I'll take the children and we meet up on Gus Treta.” They were so close, Luke could hear him breathing.

Luke actually thought it was a reasonable plan until that look came over Solo’s face and he teased, “Got it all figured out, do we?” He yanked his arm free and shook his head as he continued moving spices towards the loading door.

“Solo, come on,” Luke pleaded, starting to panic and feeling it. He looked at the children staring at him, then back to Solo. “I have to do this.”

 

-

An hour and a half later, Amidala and Solo were watching people parade off the two ships, reuniting, hugging, and running towards town. A few thanked them as they stood off to the side. Solo accepted wholeheartedly while Luke assured them it was no trouble. 

After Solo comm’ed his retailer and walked back over to Luke, who was watching the last few passengers step onto land, Luke had his own piece to say. “Solo?”

“Hm?” Solo responded, pausing.

“Thanks,” He said, and watched as two kids laughed and danced in the sun. “You changed their lives.” Luke looked over at Solo, who stared into the distance like he was looking for something important.

From inside his goggles, Solo’s eyes flickered to Amidala, then said, “I didn't do it for them.”

 

+

Luke didn’t even sit on the cafeteria bench before it started.

“Check it out,” Landry said, hitting Patton’s arm and looking at something behind Luke. Patton seemed bored but looked and shrugged.

“Cool,” Patton said.

Everyone at their table was stealing glances, so Luke made an awkward twist to see Han sitting with some brunette girl. He was disappointed; normally their conversation was much more focused on the genocide they were being forced to commit and how much they hated the Empire, but today they were just going to talk about girls. He heard Landry say, “She’s fine.”

“You jealous?” Jonas asked Landry, as Luke started on his lunch.

Landry sighed as he watched Han and the girl. “I’ve been busy. I don’t know how Han found the time.”

“You're spending all that time in the simulator and you still can't fly for shit?” Luke countered, knowing he was a better pilot than Landry because he was a better pilot than most. A dozen guys made a chorus of 'ohhh’s. 

If Luke hit a sore spot, Landry hid it. He took the teasing in stride, immediately saying at the first break in the noise, “Yeah well, we all know which one of  _ them _ Luke is jealous of,” and gesturing at Han and the girl.

Apparently it wasn't lost to his “friends” what Landry was implying. They all hooted and hollered. Luke just pretended to ignored them and enjoyed his lunch.

 

+

Solo lifted the lever and held it there, nodding at the path through the electronics. “Door's ten steps that way.” 

Luke, as Amidala, nodded and stepped ten times, coming up on a nondescript door. When he pushed, it swung open easily, since Solo was cutting off the power to the magnetic lock. Luke braced himself against the open door and yelled, “I got it!”

A  _ bam _ sounded and Luke felt the closing mechanism start, pushing Luke back out the doorway, but he managed to keep it mostly open in time for Solo to run up and slip through. Luke let it go, and it slid closed smoothly behind them. 

They took the dark hallway around to another door which was only closed by a small metal lock. Luke took a wrench off his belt and just started going at it. It took a dozen hits, but soon enough the bolts came loose and the lock fell off the door. 

Solo might have started to say something, but Luke didn't hear it as he threw open the door with a  _ thunk _ . Proceeding into the empty control room overlooking the busy street, it was a quick job to shut down the security system and release everyone locked inside. Amidala and Solo watched the doors push open and people stream out. 

As Luke breathed and leaned back in the chair, Han sunk into the other one, just nodding.

“So which one's your supplier?” Luke asked, wondering which of the satchels carried by shuffling, dehydrated adults contained a key to a locker of spices. 

Solo squinted. “The one in red. Thanks again,” He said, though he hadn't thanked Amidala earlier when they’d realized they had the same problem and agreed to work together again.

Luke couldn't find anyone wearing red but then he remembered he didn't care. He just reclined, baking in the heat of the neglected control room and watching passersby give the open building a weird look.

“Are you okay?” Solo asked.

Luke was confused. He'd never asked anything like that before. He realized Solo had been looking at him for a while. “I'm amazing. I just freed 20 refugees.”

When Solo didn't say anything, Luke checked and his face said he was doing mental math or something. Then, Solo said, “Is it a girl?”

_ Really _ ? Amidala looked away. “The only girl in my life is Captain Phasma.” It took another moment of silence for Luke to realize what he had just admitted. Captain Phasma was a pretty high ranking Imperial officer, so Luke had basically just told Solo his address, given there was only one Imperial base on Corellia. He looked at Solo; he looked pretty surprised, like he realized what Amidala had said. “I shouldn't have said that,” Luke admitted.

“Hey, it's okay.”

“No Solo,” Luke said, breathing carefully. “No. You can't know who I am.”

“You think I want some skinny halfwit running around knowing who I really am?” Solo said, and Luke realized he had a point. 

“Alright. Secret identities are…”

“Secret,” Solo confirmed, and Luke could breath a little easier. At least until he scooted his chair a couple inches closer to Amidala and leaned over. “Anyways, you're sexually frustrated by someone. I can sort you out.”

Luke blinked. “Oh. Thanks? But no thanks.” He swiveled a little away, but Solo didn't retreat.

“Come on.”

Luke honestly wasn't sure if he was kidding. He had to be kidding. “No, really.”

“Best in the galaxy. Promise. I know you like—”

“I don't like you, okay? I like someone else,” Luke interjected, and from the way Solo smirked and leaned back, this was exactly what he wanted. But Luke realized: this was a stranger. Maybe he wanted to talk about it as much as Solo wanted to hear it. “There’s this guy. He has a girlfriend now. He probably doesn't even think of me as a friend, but, I really like him.”

“He’s breaking your heart,” Solo offered, as though some established fact, “Want me to teach him a lesson?”

Luke actually laughed at the mediocre gun show Solo offered, and was about to call him off when Solo's comm beeped.

“I gotta go. My supplier,” He explained, looking disappointed, though it was probably a ruse.

So they left, trekking easily back out the series of doors and locks they had fought so valiantly to pass through initially. All was fine until they stepped into the street—ridiculously busy now as the sun was cooling down and it was less tortuous to be outside. They tried to enter the jostling river of pedestrians, but were rebuffed. Amidala’s scarf got caught on a basket and ripped down.

Luke cursed, letting himself be pulled by the basket while he worked the threads loose. It only took a few seconds but he swore a hundred eyes zeroed in on him in the struggle. Quickly covering his face again, he fought out of the crowd and looked back up the street. 

Luke saw Solo standing against the wall with his eyes pressed shut inside his goggles. “What the hell? Solo!” He called, sliding along towards him, fighting the flow of traffic. “Solo!”

Solo didn't move, and waited for Amidala to physically pounce on him and explain everything was ok before opening his eyes. Then, they just sort of looked at each other. People jostled them against the wall as they passed. It was loud. They stood very close together and looked at each other and waited for something to happen.

Solo’s comm beeped again. 

 

+

“So,” Luke said as he fell in step with Han as they walked back to base from training. “How's Qi’ra?” He asked. It hadn't taken them long to figure out who the girl was.

Han shot him a weird look. “I don't know. Good.”

“You don't know?” Luke teased.

“Yeah. Got a problem with that?”

Luke shook his head. “Trouble in paradise?”

Now Han was shocked. “Me and Qi’ra? No. Nuh unh.”

“Really?” Luke asked, thinking they had looked pretty into it at lunch.

“I…No. She's a friend.”

Luke was considering how sincere he looked when all of a sudden, two pilots from a different bunk grabbed a new recruit and threw him to the ground. Han pulled Luke away from the commotion by his sleeve as they started kicking the guy on the ground. The people behind them quickly caught up, pressing ever forward towards the next Empire-regulated activity in spite of the violence being committed before their eyes. Luke stole a few glances backwards before Han looked too. 

“Just forget it,” Han said, sounding unconvincing.

 

  * One month later



 

“Is everything ready?”

“I was born ready.”

“That's not what I asked,” Amidala reminded through the cloth mask.

Solo didn't give up his attitude. “One of these days I'm gonna get you to loosen up, Amidala.”

Luke was a little too nervous for that at the moment. This raid wasn't just about moving people, Solo and Amidala had committed to stay with the rebels once they got a bunch of refugees and Imperial slaves to Yavin 4. There was a lot of moving parts and a lot on the line. But Luke was pretty used to Solo’s antics by then. “Can it wait until after we free these people from the Empire?”

Solo paused. He considered it, or pretended to, like he was that thirsty for Amidala. “Yes, the  _ Falcon _ and my contacts on Yavin 4 are ready.”

Luke gave him a look to say, 'Now that wasn't so bad, was it?’ Out loud, he said, “See you tomorrow,” And started stalking back towards the city.

-

_ Pew! Thump. _ Solo shot another Imperial Officer and once they fell to the ground, Solo and Amidala charged across the hangar and hid behind a stack of deal fuel cells. 

Luke pointed to a clunky old freighter in the corner. “There’s the G9 Rigger.”

“Okay,” Solo said, taking it in. “Okay. You good?”

“Yeah. The door's over there,” Luke said, looking at the exit that would spit him out 100 feet from the shuttle shelter. “Okay,” He said, and started to stand up—only to feel Solo pulling him back by his sleeve.

As Amidala stumbled back behind the fuel cells, Solo said, “Sorry, I…If we don't make it out of here…”

Luke listened as Solo trailed off. A million things came to mind in a millisecond.  _ We're going to make it out of here. We've survived as smugglers for years. We've been working together for months. We've been planning this for weeks. The risks we take today are no different than any other day. You have to believe we can do this. _ But just as Luke realized it might be more than that, a thunderous  _ boom _ sounded somewhere outside, close enough to rattle the windows. Probably a falling communications tower. Unfortunately, their rescue mission got scheduled on the same day as the biggest wind storm on Corellia in 20 years, and the world outside was going to shit.

Luke panicked. They had hoped to get out before the worst of it, but it must have been really picking up if it was toppling towers. “I gotta go.”

“Okay,” Solo said, and let him go.

Amidala charged for the back door. Pulling on the latch, the door blew inwards with enough force to crush him. Luke gave up on closing it and took two steps outside before realizing, “I can't see shit!” He yelled to Solo once he had trekked back to their hiding spot, dirt blowing in the open door. Dust and debris was blowing so fast between the two buildings, Luke couldn't keep his eyes open. He would never make it across upright.

Solo took a moment and then announced, “My goggles.”

Luke agreed Han would be able to see with his goggles, but… “You have to pilot the G9 Rigger,” He argued.

Solo waited another beat, but Luke could tell he had already decided to do what he did next. Solo reached up and pulled his goggles off.

Luke's heart seized, and his eyes slid shut.  _ No _ .

“Amidala.” 

Luke knew they were running out of time, and people were counting on them to get them off Corellia and to a safe rebel base, but he also knew that he couldn't open his eyes. He didn't want to know who Solo was. He didn't want to ruin everything they'd done. “We can't—”

“It's okay,” Solo said, and Luke thought he sounded more soft and genuine than he ever had. “I don't care. We're getting out of here.”

Fighting everything he was thinking and feeling, Luke opened his eyes.

He gasped.

Solo looked confused. He pushed the goggles towards Luke, but everything was moving too fast and too slow at the same time. He shoved them away and ripped off his hood and mask. _Solo._ _Han. Solo._

When the recognition started to show on Han/Solo’s face, Luke started breathing again.  _ Han. Solo _ .  _ Han! _

Luke was done thinking. He was done waiting. Han was Solo. He leaned over, narrowly risking falling over, and quickly pressed his lips onto Han’s.

“For luck!” Luke said as he grabbed the goggles and ran towards the open door.

 

+

People were sort of confused when they boarded ships with very unmasked pilots. They were a little confused when Amidala kept radioing empty space, 'just to check’. They were confused with Solo made rounds to check everyone on board was okay. And they were pleasantly surprised to watch who they were pretty sure was famed smugglers Solo and Amidala sprint off their ships in the rebel base hangar and collide in a passionate kiss.

It became old news pretty quick. They weren't really using those names anymore.

 

-

“So the guy I offered to beat up, was me?” Han asked that night, feeling Luke/Amidala's hand in his own and seeing the stars above Yavin 4 in the sky.

“Yeah,” Luke mused, trying not to think about the masked Solo he had come to tolerate taking on the pilot Han he had come to idolize. Then, “You really had a crush on a smuggler this whole time?” It felt weird to say 'smuggler’ out loud at all, especially knowing he was referring to himself.

“What? You're good at what you do,” He offered innocently.

It was really weird to hear Han say that about him. He shivered a little, though it wasn't cold.

Han suddenly rolled onto his side, using his free hand as a pillow. “So, why Amidala?” 

“My mother,” Luke said, feeling so happy he could share this, “The senator. Her name was Padmé Amidala.” 

Luke looked over. Han said, “Wow,” really quietly.

Luke suddenly thought he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a picture of his mom. He hadn't spoken to Beru and Owen in forever. Now that he was a rebel, he may never see Tatooine again…  _ Okay. Enough of that. _ “Solo?” He asked.

“My last name,” Han admitted, and Luke was pleasantly surprised for some reason. It was so organic. “Not legally, so, it can't be traced back me. The Empire thinks I'm Han Calrissian now, but I grew up Solo, and I thought it fit.”

Luke smiled. “It does.” He looked back up at the stars. “Han Solo,” He tried out loud, and liked the sound of it. He thought about that name and enjoyed feeling Han’s hand holding his. He thought about all the ships he'd seen in the rebel hangar and wondered if he would actually get to fly something other than a T-4a.

“Hey kid,” Han said out of nowhere, “Your mom is proud of you.”

Luke squeezed Han's hand. “I know.”

Han leaned away a little and opened his arms. Luke rolled into them and let himself be held.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Drop me a line about what you liked and what you want to see more of :)


End file.
